When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for the national team too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost several years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood again was a thing I really needed.
“Building some self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Within 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a challenging first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
